The present invention relates to educational equipment, more particularly, to a puppet book kit as a means for teaching children how to read which is also enjoyable to children.
It is sometimes difficult to interest young children in reading books. Children often loose interest in reading conventional books. It is well recognized that the reading and learning processes are enhanced when the child""s interest is maximized in some manner.
The prior art has addressed this problem by incorporating entertainment features into children""s books to enhance the children""s interest in the book. Such books have been designed so that the books are visually attractive and have eye-catching features. Such entertainment features have comprised, for example, pop up figures, puppets or other items that are attached to or coordinated with a book.
Puppets and puppet shows have, of course, long been known and the effectiveness of the use of puppets to capture the attention and imagination of children has long been recognized. Children""s books of the conventional form have, of course, also long been known although the difficulty of maintaining the interest of the very young child for an extended period while the conventional form of book is being read to the child is generally recognized. Indeed, the difficulty of interesting a child who has learned to read in reading books, particularly with the television competing for the child""s time, is also great.
A child""s desire to read may be limited by the attention span of the child. A young child may pick up a conventional book and initially be interested in the book because the child can touch and feel the cover and exterior surfaces of the book. However, once the child becomes familiar with the outline of the book the child may become disinterested in the book. Since children have a natural attraction for toys and small physical objects, often children are more attentive and will want to read a book longer if a toy or small physical object is associated with the book.
The learning process may be further enhanced if a child is able to see, touch and/or feel a three-dimensional object being discussed on the pages of a book. Often times, simply having the child read the words is inadequate for the child""s complete understanding of the material printed on the book pages. A child may be better able to understand the subject matter of the book if the child is able to touch or feel a three-dimensional object which is representative of the subject matter of the book.
A wide variety of books is currently available on the commercial market and an even larger number of these types of devices are known in the art of books, for example, the animated toy book disclosed by Cross in U.S. Pat. No. 1,139,643; the puppet book structure disclosed by Chamberlin in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,180; the psychotherapeutic device disclosed by Solomon in U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,521; the educational book with interactive elements disclosed by Thorsheim and Roberts in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,576; the children""s books disclosed by Mayer et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,679; the three-dimensional book disclosed by Vap in U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,729; and the children""s activity book disclosed by Stajan and Krmelj in U.S. Pat. No. D295,538.
While all of the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a puppet book kit having a a plurality of pages, a cover, an aperture traversing through each of the pages and through the cover to form a three dimensional void, a backdrop curtain, a slide out panel, at least one card holder, a plurality of story cards, and at least one marionette. This combination of elements would specifically match the user""s particular individual needs of making it possible to provide a teacher a means for teaching children how to read which is enjoyable to children. The above-described patents make no provision for a puppet book kit having a plurality of pages, a cover, an aperture traversing through each of the pages and through the cover to form a three dimensional void, a backdrop curtain, a slide out panel, at least one card holder, a plurality of story cards, and at least one marionette.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved puppet book kit having a plurality of pages, a cover, an aperture traversing through each of the pages and through the cover to form a three dimensional void, a backdrop curtain, a slide out panel, at least one card holder, a plurality of story cards, and at least one marionette. In this respect, the puppet book kit according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a means for teaching children how to read which is also enjoyable to children.
The present kit and method of using, according to the principles of the present invention, overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a puppet book kit and method of using is disclosed. The puppet book kit comprises a plurality of pages, a cover, an aperture traversing through each of the pages and through the cover to form a three dimensional void, a backdrop curtain, a slide out panel, at least one card holder, a plurality of story cards, and at least one marionette. The plurality of pages is bound together to the cover along one common edge. The backdrop curtain is attached onto the cover, in which the backdrop curtain covers over the cover aperture. The slide out panel is slidably attached to the cover, wherein the slide out panel is mounted over the cover aperture and positioned under the backdrop curtain. Each card holder is attached to each corresponding page in which each story card is attachable to each card holder. Each marionette as a handle and a torso attached to the handle, in which the torso of the marionette is insertable through the cover aperture therein and extendible inwardly through the page apertures wherein the torso of the marionette is sized to pass through the aperture in each of the pages as the pages are turned. The method of using the kit comprises the steps of adjoining, attaching, moving, obtaining, reading, removing, repeating, sliding, supporting, taking, and turning.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known type puppet book kit now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved puppet book kit, which will be described subsequently in great detail, is to provide a new and improved puppet book kit which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a plurality of pages, a cover, an aperture traversing through each of the pages and through the cover to form a three dimensional void, a backdrop curtain, a slide out panel, at least one card holder, a plurality of story cards, and at least one marionette. The plurality of pages is bound together to the cover along one common edge. The backdrop curtain is attached onto the cover, in which the backdrop curtain covers over the cover aperture. The slide out panel is slidably attached to the cover, wherein the slide out panel is mounted over the cover aperture and positioned under the backdrop curtain. Each card holder is attached to each corresponding page in which each story card is attachable to each card holder. Each marionette as a handle and a torso attached to the handle, in which the torso of the marionette is insertable through the cover aperture therein and extendible inwardly through the page apertures wherein the torso of the marionette is sized to pass through the aperture in each of the pages as the pages are turned.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description, thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution of the art may be better appreciated.
The invention may also include an optional spiral binder spine 32 attaching the plurality of pages 12 and the cover 14 together. There are of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved puppet book kit that has all the advantages of the prior art puppet book kit and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved puppet book kit that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved puppet book kit that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such multipurpose storage unit and system economically available to the buying public.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new puppet book kit that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thererof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a puppet book kit having a a plurality of pages, a cover, an aperture traversing through each of the pages and through the cover to form a three dimensional void, a backdrop curtain, a slide out panel, at least one card holder, a plurality of story cards, and at least one marionette. This combination of elements makes it possible to provide a teacher a means for teaching children how to read which is enjoyable to children.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of using comprising the steps of adjoining, attaching, moving, obtaining, reading, removing, repeating, sliding, supporting, taking, and turning.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and description matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.